She swung their hands between them as they walked to the door of his studio. “You know, I’ve always wanted a surprise party.”
“Yeah?”
“Is everyone going to jump out and yellsurprise?” she asked, her voice rising with excitement. “That’s the best part.”
“You’ll have to wait and find out,” he grumped halfheartedly.
“Wait.” Sadie pulled at his hand to stop him. “Shouldn’t you give them the signal or something? So they know we’re coming?”
“Milaya.” He ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders. “Don’t ruin it.”
She leaned into him, pressing a kiss against his lips. “I love you, too, Rome.”
They entered the room, and everyone shouted, “Surprise!”
Sadie jumped about three seconds too late and managed a remarkably unconvincing eyes-wide, eyebrows-raised, mouth-open combo.
Babushka had bought everyone whistles to blow and confetti to toss. The result sounded like two dozen lifeguards in a hailstorm of confetti. As the confetti blitz fell to the floor, the pinkHappy Birthdaybanner that had been hung from one of his backdrops came into view. Roman had created it himself using photos of Sadie to make the letters.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sosurprised,” Sadie said, not surprised at all. “What asurprisethis is!”
“Overselling,” Roman muttered against her earlobe as they came to a stop beside his desk.
Marlee sauntered up to them. “Who told you?”
“Seriously, who squealed?” Kellie stepped beside Marlee.
“Was it Babushka?” Becca asked.
“I’ll let Sadie explain,” Roman replied, giving Sadie a side squeeze before heading to check the cake—chocolate with double fudge frosting.
He needed to mark this memory before they cut into it.
“Sadie?” he asked loud enough for her to hear. “Would you hand me Louise?”
Sadie picked up Louise from her special spot on his desk and brought her over.
No one, and he meant no one, touched Louise. Except him, and now Sadie.
Sadie held Louise to her own eye and clicked the shutter.
It’d become their thing—Sadie made sure he spent life in front of the shutter in more ways than just this one.
The party might not have been a surprise, but Roman hoped like hell that what he had in store for Sadie would still dazzle her. Roman took Louise while Sadie did the party circuit, welcoming friends and family.
Finally, she stood right next to him, her hand in his.
As time slipped on, Roman’s heart beat faster. It was time. Present time.
He wiped his palms against his jeans before clearing his throat and calling for attention.
Everyone sardined together in his studio for Sadie’s party. The entirety of his family turned to stare at him. The entirety of Sadie’s family. Their friends, including Rex and Tonya who were still happily married. Roman had been correct, Tonya won after all. Sadie saw it, too, eventually. The marriage stuck this time and Rex had warmed up to Sadie once he got to know her.
Winning meant different things. Sometimes it took a twist of the lens, a shift in perspective, to see the glimmer of light in the jungle trees. People just had to be willing to grab hold of that glimmer and believe that maybe they’d been wrong.
He glanced at her, warming all over when she smiled at him. A firm feeling that everything was right took hold.
There was no question about what he wanted his future to look like with Sadie, and in that moment, the nervous energy dissolved. No one else existed in the brightly lit room when she stared at him like that. There was only her. There was only them.
